How well will Cronulla do in 2012 ?

[anjado]

Cronulla for me are a team which has been building towards being a decent team for the past 2 seasons now, they finally have a bit of spark and creativity. In saying that though the sharks in a way are the most polarizing team in the NRL for this season.

They certainly have the potential to finish in the top 8, If you look at the 1/6/7/9 you have Gardner,Graham,Carney and De Gois that is pretty decent backbone. When you add the best forward in the game in Gallen and a natural leader in Jeremy Smith things are looking up for the Sharks.

Obviously the big question mark about the sharks season is Todd Carney. If Todd Carney can stay clean a massive if at this stage of his career then he could lead the Sharks to a top 8 finish and maybe a decent run in the finals. If it all goes wrong which is what i am leaning towards then they will be in the battle for the spoon.

Cronulla's strength is obviously in the forwards, most clubs would be reeling at the loss of two quality front rowers in Douglas and Snowden, Cronulla though have done quite well bringing in Gibbs,Fifita and Ross that is a decent front row rotation.

They have also made one of the signings of the season in my opinion in Isaac De Gois i think he is a quality dummy half and Cronulla will really benefit in having him back.

Back row is outstanding Gallen and Smith are two of the best and Tupou can cause some problems.

The outside backs are a bit unproven You have Mills,Gordon,Wright and Stapleton these are young guys who i can't really give a full opinion on yet it is more a wait and see with them they are all young and could provide some excitement for fans. Gardner is a fantastic fullback in a competition full of fantastic fullbacks.

Be interesting to see what happens with Albert Kelly this season to me he seems like a great impact sub but that depends on Carney again.

Bench looks strong Fifita,Tagatese,Taufua amongst others should provide plenty of impact.

For me i see the Sharks coming about 13th,there are just way too many things which could go wrong this season to tip them to come higher. It is a massive test for Flanaghan who i think has done a decent job so far but this season is by far his toughest assignment.

 

[Clifferd]

9th-12, however i would not be surprised if they squeezed into the top 8, their foward pack alone could make them get that far, then they have the explosive backs in Carney, Gardner etc. A decent year for Cronulla anyhow

 

[StormHi]

5th to 8th. I don't know why I reckon the sharks resurgence will coincide with the blues finally winning a series and. I Think it's Our year and I feel like the sharks are gonna have a breakthrough year I wish there was a 9-8 selection

 

[Goddy]

Shithouse, as usual. 10th just to give them a bit of hope.

 

[Patorick]

Better than the League Lounge...

 

[Big Pete]

2012 is going to be another tough old year for the Sharks.

A lot of their hope resides in Carney and I can't help but think his move to the Shire will be another bump in the road. I'm sure he'll raise a few hopes with a couple of classic Carney performances but when things get tough and he doesn't have the options outside of him to create opportunities he'll fold.

The forward pack is fine but it isn't good enough to carry the side the entire journey. Gallen is the best forward in the game, Smith is a good foil and gives the pack an intimidation factor that's lacking in the NRL at the moment. But away from them it's just journeymen or youngsters. Ross, Gibbs and De Gois are handy but they're only capable of so much and in the case of Ross and De Gois I question their capability for handling another season. Bukuya, Fifita, Peachey & Frizell have potential to be good possibly great players but can't be relied upon this season. I also get the feeling that a lot of their ordinary depth signings like Tafua will get the nod before them.

Then comes the backline and boy is it one of the worst in the NRL. It reminds me of the Bulldogs but worse. It relies a lot on Gardner, one of the most exciting players in the game but I don't think he's ready to carry that responsibility. He's still got a few issues with his support and positional play and his playmaking skills still leave a bit to be desired. He's going to have to step up if their a chance.

Then there's the wingers. If it was me, I'd start with Stewart Mills & Matt Wright as they both pose a challenge and look like competent first grade wingers. Mills in particular looks like a star of the future but he's still relatively young and has to prove himself before he can be considered a good player. Away from them, that's when things get a little sad. J. Williams is a solid player but he does have some poor plays in him and the only asset he really has is his defensive game and his boot. Stapleton and Gordon are just depth options as far as I'm concerned.

The centre combination is where they really struggle. Pomeroy/Best suck and give the Sharks little potency out-wide. Pomeroy in particular is a player they should have got rid of a long time ago and I still don't quite understand why he isn't play ESL or NSW Cup. The sad thing is I don't think there is anyone who could definitely replace them. There is Leutele and Feki but the former hasn't impressed me with his appearances and the latter has yet to play first grade. Hardly an ideal situation.

Ultimately, I think 2012 is going to be like a lot of Sharks seasons. A couple of decent performances, but never in the hunt.

 

[Danny-Boy]

well enough to fold or relocate.

 

[carcharias]

Twas only a few short years ago that the sharks came equal first at the end of the season.
that was with nutley playing front row, Seymour out injued, bird also out injured.
Noddy was involved in every single play and was putting massive 8 1/2 meter down field kicks and 1000000 inside balls per game.
Ben Ross was front row...prett sure de gois was hooker, the other dude got sacked .

And who knocked them out one game short of the GF?

Yep,the biggest pack of cheats in the game.

So... I predict.....

Spoon.

 

[Ausguy]

oh god here we go....

 

[DoggiesBro]

I think the loss of Snowden and Douglas for Gibbs, Fafita, Ross is a bit of a downgrade, in saying that if Carney is stable and off the drink at least as far as the media know Sharks will be near the 8 i think and hope.

 

[carcharias]

snowdon and douglas were good..not great ...not awesome...just good.

Dougie was boring if you ask me... and snowdon only had a handful of games where he showed what he is capable of.
Plus, isn't he injured fairly badly? ...back / neck?

 

[adamkungl]

5th-8th. A good spine and one of the best starting packs going around. Their biggest weakness has previously been there backline and their bench, this is still true to an extent but some young wingers and forwards have another year of experience under their belt and will start to come into their own. Unfortunately their centres are still awful, not only that but quite old. Maybe Carney can work his magic with them.

Will surprise a lot of people and cause headaches for the top teams but I don't think they have the talent to challenge for the title this year.

 

[firechild]

I reckon they'll finally get back into the 8, just. They showed glimmers of hope last year (beating the Dragons and leading Manly until about the 77th minute) but they just had no consistency. This year they have a better side and I reckon that'll be enough to get them competing.

(if there was a 7-10th option, I would have gone with that)

 

[Tiger_Gold]

17th....

 

[mongoose]

I can't see things turning around for the Sharks unfortunately. Carney is hugely overrated. His defence is still piss weak and he goes missing as soon as the chips are down. Their outside backs are probably the worst in the NRL. Forward pack is good but not amazing. I thought De Gois was pretty ordinary last year. 13th-16th. Sorry sharks fans.

 

[NAS]

There's been a lot written about cronulla's recruitment this year....Indeed when one looks at their side on paper, there's alot of talent there.

Alas Cronulla always look good on paper.

Looking at Cronullas backs.

Firstly, Sorry cronulla fans, but Nathan Gardner was well found out last year. Had an absolute Barry Crocker, and my guess is that, unless he changes his style of play to be more team oriented, he'll be a big problem for you moving forward.

The outside backs are decidedly weak for Cronulla, yet I still think Best is underrated and I see on the books they've bought young Feki from the warriors, who has talent (if lacking in brains a little.....youtube him....I believe he's the bloke who was grandstanding before he scored in a game, only to have the ball stripped at the last second). Mills needs to stay on the paddock. But realistically, your stocks in the backs are thin....Pomeroy can do a job, and then he can also stuff it up...

The halves are interesting by virtue of the options that are there with Carney's arrival. Carney on his day is obviously the best there is. But when not on his day, he's an abomination...The problem for Carney this year is that he doesn't have Pearce and Anasta backing him up. Who partners him will give great insight into the way the sharks will play this year.

The safe bet Jeff Robson, over from the eels. Super consistent, what he lacks in talent, usually makes up in heart. Has been in the NRL a few years now...If Flanagan goes with this option, one can assume that Cronulla are likely to play the game through their forwards, utilising their very talented back rowers on the fringes....

Chad Townsend is another option. started with a bang last year, but if he's in the team for too long, opposition coaches will work him out, as they did Smith and Sandow before him....It's a hard year for a half back....that said, he's certainly got the best boot of the lot of them...If Flanagan goes with Townsend, you'd think that Cronulla will play a game off the boot...similar to Penrith 2010.

The third option is Albert Kelly. Flanagan may think that Carney and De Gois have appropriate organisational skills to allow the 5/8 role to be utilised by some much needed speed. Kelly is a rare talent, but is one like a Sandow or a Campbell. Unpredictable, and lightning. If they go with Kelly, I'd suspect that the Sharks may play a wide style of attack.

Finally, Wade Graham may also partner Carney in the halves. This would allow for Gallen to play his usual lock position, and strenthen their forwards, and backs defensive capabilities relying on the guile of De Gois through the middle for their points.

I imagine that much will depend on the forwards, who I think are weaker for the sharks this year than last year. Ben Ross and Luke Douglas are similar players but for the size of the motor. Douglas is capable of still playing big minutes. Ross, as good a year as he had last year, is now a good 35 to 40 minute player. Fafita and Tafua are capable of big plays but don't seem to know the meaning of team work sometimes.

Gallen, Tupou, Bukuya and Jeremy Smith are all super players and will always demand respect....That said, Gal started to have injuries last year. and the way he plays the game, when you get one, it generally starts to snowball.

Finally, perhaps Cronulla's best purchase is the return of crafty hooker Issac De Gois, who they should never have let go of in the first place. The problem there is that De Gois has spent alot of the last two years out injured.

At the end of the day, I think Cronulla struggle this year. I think their middle is probably more exposed than ever.....and I think that they'll need to come up with a way to play Albert Kelly more if they're to develop an attack at all. 13th-16th for mine.

 

[Special K]

I think we will make the 8 which is the first time I've thought this coming into a season in a few years.

We have added depth and we have our best spine of recent memory and I love what De Gois and Carney can bring to the table in attack. Our front row is a good 3 man rotation (4 if you include Gallen pushing up) and our backrow is strong. I believe our pack is stronger in 2012 then it was in 2011 which says a lot if you factor in losing Snowden/Douglas. If we can get some of these young backs to step up, including Gardner we might be able to score some points.

 

[BranVan3000]

I think even if Carney comes good, the coaching will hold Cronulla back

10th spot

 

[Silent Knight]

I'm going to tip the Sharks to finish 7th. Carney will fire and will cause some of the more fancied teams to nervously look over their shoulders. There is nothing wrong with their spine and they have a very impressive forward pack.

I'm also going to stick my neck out here and say they will finish ahead of the Broncos, Bulldogs and (of course) Souffs. I don't believe the Sharks are as bad as some people are making them out to be.

Also all this talk of booting out an existing team to accommodate a dot on the map just plain pisses me off. The Sharks aren't going anywhere.

 

[BranVan3000]

Carney is the only impressive part of the Shark's spine and he is what caused Roosters to implode last year